17/08/2026
THE FIRST DUEL
Ramus vs Charpentier
In 1550, Jacques Charpentier was elected rector of the University of Paris, a position that gave him immediate statutory authority over the entire university. Almost at once, he turned against Ramus and the Collège des Presles: he stripped the students of their privileges and barred them from higher academic degrees.
Ramus did not back down. He took the matter before the Parliament of Paris, arguing that the case went beyond the college: it was that of the University as a whole, and of the education of its youth. He won. A first duel won. But the war was only just beginning.
Excerpt from the Truschet and Hoyau Plan of Paris (1550), at the time of the Ramus/Charpentier duel. The palace then housed the Parliament of Paris, the Grand-Salle where magistrates sat, where Ramus came to plead his case.
Basel University Library (institution), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Palais de la Cité in 1650, seat of the Parliament of Paris in the 16th century, where Ramus brought the case.
D'après Boisseau, Israel Silvestre, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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